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Description:
In March 2007, the Blue Mountain School District suspended two eighth-grade students after they created a fake MySpace profile for James McGonigle, principal of the Blue Mountain Middle School in Pennsylvania. The MySpace page did not identify McGonigle by name, but it included his picture from the school district's website and identified the person depicted as a "principal." According to court documents, the profile characterized the principal as a sex-obsessed pedophile, and it was laced with profanity and other negative comments about McGonigle and his family.
The school determined that, based on the creation of the fake profile, the two students had violated the school discipline code, which prohibits making false accusations against school staff members. It also determined that the students violated the school's computer use policy, which informs students that they cannot use copyrighted material without permission, by obtaining McGonigle's photo from the school district's website. As a result, the school suspended the two students for ten days out-of-school.
One of the students, going by the initials "J.S.", sued the school district, McMonigle, and the school district superintendent for violating her First Amendment rights. She argued, among other things, that the school could not constitutionally punish her for out-0f-school speech that did not cause a disruption of classes or school administration. The court denied her request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, and later granted summary judgment to the school district, ruling that the school could discipline lewd and vulgar off-campus speech that had an effect on campus, even if this effect didn't amount to a "substantial disruption" under Tinker v. Des Moines Ind. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503 (1969).
J.S. has appealed the ruling to United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Update:
02/04/2010 - The Third Circuit affirmed the lower court's decision granting summary judgment to the school district. The Third Circuit held "... that Tinker applies to student speech, whether on or off campus, that causes or threatens to cause a substantial disruption of or material interference with school or invades the rights of other members of the school community."
04/09/2010 - The Third Circuit granted J.S.'s petition for an en banc rehearing of her appeal.
06/03/2010 - The case was argued before the Third Circuit en banc.
06/13/2011 - The Third Circuit en banc reversed the District Court's grant of summary judgment to the School District on the student speech claims and remanded to the District Court. The court, en banc, held that an exception to Tinker set forth in Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986), holding that a school district can discipline students for lewd, vulgar, and offensive speech, if it has an effect on the school and educational mission of the district, did not apply to this case. Accordingly, the Third Circuit concluded "that the Fraser decision did not give the School district the authority to punish J.S. for her off-campus speech."
10/18/2011 - The School District filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.
01/17/2012 - The Supreme Court denied the School District's Petition for Certiorari.